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MS-06FF Zaku Saberfish
The MS-06FF Zaku Saberfish is one of several variants of the MS-06 Zaku II line of Mobile Suit. Captured by the Earth Federation ship Wounded Hound it was modified for use as an artillery unit, using the weapons of the FF-S3 Saberfish space and atmospheric fighter and later those of the RB-79 Ball. Like the other units modified by the Wounded Hound crew, the Zaku Saberfish underwent retrofitting at Jaburo base to make use of the Earth Federation's own advancements with weaponry, particularly those attached to the RGC-80 GM Cannon. It was piloted by Johnathon Boldt through out the One Year War. Technology & Combat Characteristics Starting off as a typical C-Type Zaku II, once captured by the crew of the Wounded Hound, the mobile suit went through a series of modifications that essentially married its design to that of an FF-S3 Saberfish space fighter. The body of one such fighter was grafted to the left forearm as a light machine gun platform while its missile launchers were attached to the shoulders, requiring the removal of its shoulder shield and signature spike pauldron. This provided the unit light arms fire as well as the capabilities of an artillery unit, capable of eliminating Zeon light cruisers and Zaku-type units with ease. It would also set the trend for future modifications to the suit, with the RB-79 Ball rolled out en masse for the Earth Federation forces, the few units supplied to the Wounded Hound were used instead as additions to the Zaku Saberfish, replacing its missile launchers with two powerful cannons that further enhanced its primary role in combat. Its main weapon was once more changed with the advent of the GM, the Zaku Saberfish was supplied with a pair of cannons taken from the GM Cannon which would serve as its primary weapons through out the remainder of the One Year War. Aside from its cannons, its primary armament consisted of Zeon fielded tech scavenged through out various battles in the early stages of the war. The most notable of its scavenged weaponry was a KwK-4-CM0 3-Barrel 35mm machine gun, taken from a battle with an MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom, during the Wounded Hound's approach towards Jaburo. The weapon was permanently grafted to the suit, replacing its weaker GAU12-E 25mm machine gun as well as the left manipulator hand. In the hands of EFF engineers, it was upgraded with systems and equipment utilized by the RGM-79 GM in order to bring it up to the standard set by new advancements in mobile suit design by the Earth Federation, this included a backpack system that carried an auto-loader for its cannons as well as socket and recharging cells for a THI BSjG01 Beam Saber in order to replace the aging Heat Hawk Type3. Armaments GAU12-E 25mm Machine Gun :Mounted onto the left arm and integrated with the Zaku Saberfish's systems is the body of a dissassembled FF-S3 Saberfish fighter, retaining just enough of its parts to be attached to the arm of a C-Type Zaku II and maintain the placement and use of its 25mm Machine Guns, essentially transforming it into an arm mounted gun platform. With four barrels and a massive rate of fire, the 25mm Machine Guns are excellent as a form of small arms fire for a mobile suit, capable of dealing with lighter enemy units such as HT-01B Magella Attack tanks, though it proved ineffective against the armour of even the most lightly armoured mobile suits.[Saberfish#Armaments|Saberfish[S Armaments]] KwK-4-CM0 3-Barrel 35mm Machine Gun :Eventually replacing the GAU12 was a triple barreled 25mm Machine Gun, salvaged from the armaments of a defeated Gouf Custom. It was a magazine fed weapon with an advanced rate of fire that was capable of damaging heavily armoured mobile suits such as the Ground-type Gundam.Gouf Custom Armaments Like the GAU12 it was mounted on the left arm of the Zaku Saberfish as a permanently integrated addition, replacing the manipulator hand in a design similiar to the 5-barreled machine gun utilized by the regular Gouf unit.Gouf Armaments Su.20/UB SLASH Missile Launcher :Replacing its shield and spike pauldron were a set of missile launchers, taken from the FF-S3 Saberfish in order to provide the Zaku Saberfish with light artillery capabilities in contrast to the melee oriented MS-06FP Zaku Striker and mobility oriented MS-06EF Zaku Magellan. Though it would prove ineffective against later generation mobile suits, the Su.20 provided enough firepower to obliterate first-generation Zaku IIs or eliminate Zeon cruisers such as the Musai-class light cruiser. The Zaku Saberfish was loaded up with half of a Saberfish's available launchers, providing it with six of the total possible twelve. They were eventually replaced by the recoilless cannons of the RB-79 Ball. 180mm Recoilless Cannon :The only real weapon attached to the RB-79 Ball, a 180mm Recoilless cannon mounted atop its head, though slow and incapable of being fired in quick succession, the cannon had great range capabilities and wielded enough firepower to take out enemy mobile suits in one shot, if well aimed. The effective range for the cannon was actually further than the active sensor range of the Zaku Saberfish. A pair of these cannons were mounted onto the shoulders of the Zaku Saberfish following the rollout of Ball units to the Wounded Hound. They quickly became the main weapon of the Zaku Saberfish, allowing it to remain on the outskirts of a battlefield while dealing extreme damage to enemy combatants, though they would eventually be replaced like its previous artillery armament. 240mm Cannon :The same cannon mounted on the shoulders of RGC-80 GM Cannon mobile suits, the Zaku Saberfish carried two of these into battle, replacing its 180mm cannons from the Ball. Devised for mid-range combat, they lacked the range of the 180mm recoilless cannon, but more than made up for it with more firepower. Utilizing a backpack system attached to the Zaku Saberfish, the cannon was shell loaded and came with an automatic loader in order to make use of this process without excessive downtime or external support. The recoil of the weapons was difficult on the frame of the C-Type Zaku II, requiring a support structure, in the form of struts attached to the legs of the mobile suit that could be deployed and raised as necessary. ZMP-50D 120mm Machine Gun :The standard weapon of the Zaku-type mobile suits. Using a 100-round drum fed magazine, it is a shell firing weapon that requires no energy in order to make use of it, though its usefulness against heavily armoured targets is almost nil, to the point that the Luna Titanium-armoured Gundam was near impossible to damage with the weapon. Regardless, it was a mainstay of the Zeon forces and perhaps the signature weapon of the Zaku II.Zaku II Armaments The Zaku Saberfish utilized this rifle as its main armament for much of its early life, and would retain it as a backup weapon despite its growing role as an artillery unit. Heat Hawk Type3 :A metallic axe, typically stored on the rear waist armour of Zaku units, that is capable of generating a superheated blade in order to melt through the armour of whatever it cuts.Zaku I Armaments The Type3 is an earlier type of this weapon design, less effective than the Type5 fielded by the F-Type Zaku II.F-Type Zaku II Armaments It was utilized rarely by the Zaku Saberfish due to its pilots preference to stay at range. THI BSjG01 Beam Saber :Beam sabers are large tube-like hilts that make use of Minovsky particles held in place by an I-Field to form a cutting edge that can break through almost any kind of material. These particles are stored by E-cap in the hilt of the saber which can be recharged by the mobile suits reactor when stored in the backpack.GM Armaments They utilize their own power source, allowing the wielder to throw or otherwise discard the weapons at anytime. Notes *Its name is of course a combination of the MS-06C Zaku II and the FF-S3 Saberfish. Gallery File:KWK.jpg| KwK-4-CM0 35mm Machine Gun File:FF-S3.jpg| FF-S3 Saberfish (w/ Su.20/UB SLASH Missile Launcher) File:BallGun.jpg| 180mm Recoilless Cannon File:RGCGun.jpg| 240mm Cannon File:ZMP-50D.jpg| ZMP-50D 120mm Machine Gun File:HawkType3.jpg| Heat Hawk Type 3 File:GMSaber.jpg| THI BSjG01 Beam Saber References